Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
by RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley
Summary: When a model-hating Akuma attacks, Adrien ends up stuck looking ugly. With a new face Adrien quickly learns how differently people will treat him now he is no longer beautiful. Even his friends are acting differently, all but one that is...
1. Chapter 1

Adrien was at another early morning photoshoot.

He hated those the most as they consisted of him being dragged out of bed at half four in the morning, forced into a chair for make-up by half five, and sitting around uselessly as the photographer whined and gripped about everything not being perfect enough until finally he can leave, but not to sleep or anything, oh no, he had school which by at that point he had missed the first two hours of and will have to work extra hardtop catch up on.

Because heaven forbid Adrien gets a grade below an A.

Adrien doesn't complain. He _couldn't_ complain really. He wanted the real school experience and he was willing to do whatever it took to be able to keep doing the real school experience.

He wanted to go to class, and keep making friends, and go to study groups, and hang out at lunch time with Nino, and he so wanted to experience a school trip and a school dance and an actual graduation with real people.

So yes, he would do _anything_.

Even if it meant ridiculously early photoshoots when he could be sleeping instead.

So he stood up straight and did his very best to strut his stuff while inwardly he was dreaming of coffee and croissants….preferably the ones from Marinette's bakery that were light, and fluffy, and delicious….

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" his photographer cried out delightedly as multiple flashes burned brightly in Adrien's eyes. "That's perfect! Look _hungry_! You're _starving_! You're on the verge of pouncing on your prey for some _ravishing and ravaging_!"

That last bit startled Adrien slightly – though to be honest the spaghetti thing was a lot weirder – and he fell out of 'character' but before this photographer could yell at him, there is a loud blast and half of the crew are forced off of their feet.

"Oh _thank God_!" Adrien muttered to himself. "Erm," he corrected himself quickly, "I mean – Oh my God!" He cried out melodramatically. "An Akuma attack!"

The Akuma was decidedly male – Adrien thinks – and was probably the weirdest looking one to date. It was as if a Picasso painting just vomited up onto a human being. Body parts were lopsided and not where they were meant to be and his skin was a patchwork of different colours.

" **YOU!** " the Akuma bellowed as he pointed a long, gnarled, finger at Adrien. "It's all _your_ fault! You propagate these notions that people have to be perfect. That they have to be thin with clear skin and white teeth and be drop-dead gorgeous. Well let me tell you _normal_ people don't look like _you_."

Adrien inwardly cursed his luck.

 _Of course_ Hawk Moth created an Akuma that hated models and would therefore target him. _Of course_ Adrien couldn't have it easy and slip away to transform. No he just had to be the target and therefore the centre of attention.

The Akuma held up a mirror that was already cracked. "Well let me tell you something, Mr _Perfect_ ," the Akuma sneered, "I'm going to pull you down from your ivy tower so you'll know what's it's like to sit in the crap like the rest of us ugly people."

At this perceived threat to Adrien's well-being, the Gorilla did what he did best. He narrowed his eyes, cracked his knuckles, and then charged right in to defend Adrien from an attack.

Unfortunately for the Gorilla it was an Akuma not a normal crazed stalker and the gigantic man didn't even make it half way before the Akuma blasted him into a nearby tree and knocked him out.

"Adrien!" Nathalie called out shakily. "Just stay where you are. We'll get some hel-"

Adrien darted forwards towards his bag.

He had just seen his bodyguard get knocked out and there was no way he was going to let anyone else get just as hurt or worse. Nor was he was going to sit there like a sitting duck and be blasted to smithereens.

He was a superhero _dammit_!

If he can get to his bag, he could get Plagg, and then he could transform and contact Ladybug and they could put this Akuma to bed before class even started.

Unfortunately for Adrien, as usual, the Akuma was quicker than him.

Adrien was barely halfway when a beam suddenly hits him straight on into stomach. Adrien yelped as a sharp pain stabbed into him deeply and he tripped over some wire and rolled onto the grass as he suddenly felt worn out and heavier than usual.

He tried to get to his hands and knees when a sudden weight made him fall back onto the ground.

"Well, aren't you just _pathetic_?" the Akuma sneered down at Adrien. "Now you're going to know what it's like for the rest of us non-perfect human beings. Time to learn what school is really like when you're normal teenager. I'd wish you luck but, you know, I'd much rather you just _suffer._ "

And with an evil cackle worthy of all clichéd villains, the Akuma vanished.

"ADRIEN!" Nathalie shrieked. Adrien groaned in reply and was barely aware of the crowd of concerned crew members that were surrounding him as he felt Nathalie's firm grip on his shoulders as she turned him round to face her. "Adrien!" she repeated worriedly. "Are you all ri- _uh!"_ she interrupted herself with a sharp breath.

Her usually cool expression went missing as a look of horror flickered across her features. Her blue eyes were wide and fearful, her mouth was equally wide open, and she was suddenly unnaturally more pale than usual to the point she was almost chalky.

The crowd of people behind her all simultaneously gasped in equal horror.

"What?" Adrien asked nervously. "What is it?"

"A-A-Adrien," Nathalie stammered out, " _your face_!"

"What?" Adrien blinked. "Do I have something on it? Did I bruise it? What can I say," he grinned easily trying desperately to defuse the tense atmosphere which was beginning to suffocate him, "I'm a peach."

No one laughed.

Honestly, he hadn't expected them to. It wasn't one of his finest quips, but he had to say the horrified, unblinking, stares he was receiving was seriously beginning to unnerve him.

"Nathalie," he pleaded, "what's wrong? What is it?"

"I-I-I-I here!" Nathalie fumbled into her handbag and pulled out her compact mirror. She almost ripped it in half in her desperation to open it and she all but flung it into Adrien's face. "I am so fired!" she moaned to herself. "Your father is going to kill me!"

Adrien stared, dumbstruck.

There was a boy that didn't look like a boy. He looked like a middle-aged man that was gaining badly. His face was bloated with fat to the point his eyes were almost hidden behind his puffy cheeks. His skin was greasy and sickly looking with gigantic volcanoes for spots scattered across. His hair was thinning, the hairline now so back that it showed far too much shiny forehead. He looked almost forty and a teenager all at the same time. When he smiled everyone could see clearly how rotted his teeth were.

Adrien blinked.

The monstrous creature blinked back.

There was no doubt about it….this was Adrien's reflection….which meant….which meant….

…Adrien Agreste was now ugly.


	2. Chapter 2

It took all of Nathalie's will power to not suddenly breakdown into a trembling mess beneath the cool, unemotional, gaze of Gabriel Agreste.

There was absolutely no doubt that her boss was displeased with this morning events.

Gabriel's gaze softened a touch when his eyes landed on Adrien's disfigured face. "Are you in any pain?" he asked quietly.

"No," Adrien replied politely, "I'm fine."

Gabriel exhaled quietly as the tension in his shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit. "Good," he said, "since we have no idea how long… _this_ ," he gestured at Adrien's face, "is going to last. I will have all of your modelling engagements for the rest of this week cancelled."

He nodded at Nathalie and instantly she was on her phone tapping out emails to all concerned parties.

"I am sure this will be fixed by the end of the day, Father," Adrien said cheerfully, "Ladybug will catch the Akuma in no time."

"Hmmm…." Gabriel pursued his lips in disapproval. "I think caution is the best path to take."

Adrien bristled at the slight against his favourite superhero. "Ladybug will fix this!" he insisted. "She always saves the day."

"Ladybug is a teenage girl doing the job that the police should be doing," Gabriel replied coolly, "she cannot be expected to clean up every mess made by that brainwashing psychopath nor can she be expected to do it immediately."

"She rescued _you_!" Adrien pointed out passionately. "Surely you have more faith in her abilities because of that. _This_ ," he waved at his face dismissively, "is nothing compared to you almost jumping off the roof under that spell."

"Exactly," Gabriel replied stiffly, "she only just saved me in the nick of time. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir are underprepared, untrained, and just plain sloppy. _This_ ," he waved his hand at Adrien's face, which, Nathalie noticed from the corner of her eye, was screwed up in a pained grimace, "happened because they weren't there to prevent it. They were probably asleep and with that in mind I have no expectations of them rescuing the day today."

Adrien crossed his arms defiantly and glared up at his father. Gabriel, however, ignored his son's sullen behaviour as he leaned forwards to rest his chin against his fingers and studied Adrien thoughtfully.

"Now then," Gabriel said eventually after several, painful, long moments of silence, "is your current appearance in anyway whatsoever hindering your abilities?"

"No," Adrien said sulkily, "Father," he tacked on with a little more respect in his voice.

"Very well," Gabriel nodded, "you may continue your classes at school and your extra-circular activities then. I wish you a good day."

Adrien beamed at that and Nathalie had to quickly cover her mouth to smother the gagging noise that erupted from her throat at the sight of Adrien's rotted teeth. They were yellow with several dark brown stains and a couple actual black spots of pure rot.

It was absolutely revolting.

Gabriel, to his credit, managed to hide any revulsion he may feel with another expressionless mask as he returned to his paperwork. "You may go now," he said to Adrien without looking up.

And with that dismissal, Adrien hastily picked up his schoolbag and rushed out of the office.

" _Sir_!" Nathalie cried out as soon as the office door was firmly shut. "I don't mean to speak out of turn but do you really think it is wise to send Adrien to school in his condition?!" Gabriel looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I mean," She added hastily, "children are _cruel,_ Sir, they will bully him."

"You are right on both accounts," Gabriel said calmly, "you are speaking of turn and children are cruel. You are my employee, Nathalie, not my equal. You have no say in how I raise my child."

 _I know I don't!_ Nathalie thought furiously. _Because if I did you would buy his birthday presents for yourself and that's just for starters!_

Instead, she coughed and collected herself before she lost her temper and job in one sure swoop. "Forgive me Sir," she murmured, "I just thought….you were so against Adrien going to school in the first place, and now when he's actually vulnerable I thought you would want him safe."

"I would love nothing more than to keep Adrien safe," Gabriel said smoothly, "but if these last few months have taught me anything it is how naïve and trusting my son is, and that is on me. I have kept him from the world and now he unprepared for hardship. His future business associates will eat him alive. However, spending a day looking like _that,_ " he shuddered at the memory of his son's newly disfigured face, "at school where shallow, petty, children like Chloe Bourgeois goes to will be excellent character-building for Adrien. He will be stronger in the face of adversity."

Nathalie gritted her teeth at that.

On one hand she couldn't fault Gabriel's line of thinking. It was putting up with school bullies that strengthen Nathalie's determination, made her work harder, and toughened her against people's words and attitudes. She could not deny it, being bullied had in fact made her the perfect woman for a demanding job like this.

And yet on the other hand, Adrien had already dealt with a great hand of sorrow in his life. His mother had vanished, his father might as well have vanished too majority of the time, he never got to do things most normal teenagers got to do, and no one treats him like a normal person because he is famous.

In short he didn't need any more character building.

But he was still so open and trusting…

"Nathalie," Gabriel said from behind some paperwork he was pursuing, "you may also leave now.

"Yes Sir."

When she exited Gabriel's office she spotted Adrien muttering to himself as he fiddled with his schoolbag. He has taken to doing that a lot lately, she had no idea what a Plagg was and why it was so important to school, and she really had no desire to find out either.

"Adrien!" she called out softly. Adrien hastily slammed his bag shut and turned round to ace her with a guilty look on his face. She really didn't want to know what a Plagg was. "Adrien," she repeated firmly as she stepped closer to the boy, "I want you to know that….well," she faltered slightly, "children are cruel. Very cruel."

Adrien tilted his head to the side curiously. "Nathalie?" he said bewilderedly.

She reached out awkwardly and squeezed his shoulder in an attempt for comfort. "You have to remember that it doesn't matter what you look like right now. You're an _Agreste,_ you keep your head held up high and you remember that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you, you got it?"

"Erm," Adrien looked completely lost, "okay?"

"Good boy," Nathalie awkwardly patted his shoulder. She was really useless at this whole affection thing. Seriously, what was wrong with a good hearty business-like handshake? "Now go to school…and Adrien?"

Adrien smiled sweetly though hi rotten teeth spoiled the effect it used to have there was still something heart-warming and bright in his eyes. "Yes, Nathalie?" he replied.

"You….just…" she shook her head unable to get the sentiment unstuck from her throat. She really wasn't good with this sort of stuff. "…Have a good day," she said eventually.

"I will," Adrien promised.

He won't.

But that didn't stop Nathalie from crossing her fingers really tight under the desk as she hoped otherwise.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien soon learnt what Nathalie meant about children being cruel as soon as he stepped into the school building.

He was used to people staring at him.

(Well, okay, he hadn't _really_ but he no longer felt the urge to hide his face in his shirt collar so that was an improvement.)

That sounded arrogant but it was the truth. Since he had arrived at school there had been girls and boys all over him and when they finally got used to him and were less….insane, they still stared at him appreciatively.

This morning however they all just looked horrified.

Girls dropped their books at the sight of him and let out shrill screams that hurt his ears. Some even swooned (and Ladybug thought he was a melodramatic cliché)! Boys let their jaws drop open unattractively as they gawked at him while some sniggered nastily behind their hands. Ghastly whispers followed Adrien as he passed, making the hairs of the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably.

It was just a bit of weight gain and some spots!

Honestly, what was the big deal?

Adrien ducked his head down and walked quickly when a larger boy from a couple years above bumped into him. Their shoulders collided harshly and Adrien staggered backwards in surprise at the suddenness of it.

"Hey!" he cried out startled. "Watch it!"

"You watch it," the boy spat out, "crater face."

He then marched off down the corridor without another word.

Adrien sniffed disdainfully at that. His patience felt very much tried at this moment, it had been a very long morning and it was only half eight! "Well that was rude," Adrien muttered down to Plagg. "He didn't have to re-hey!"

Another boy shoved past Adrien, this time sending the model flying forwards. "Get out of the way ugly!" the boy yelled over his shoulder.

Adrien opened his mouth to retort something incredibly witty back when another boy suddenly pushed past him in the opposite direction. "Watch where you're going pedo!" the boy snarled.

Adrien spluttered indignantly at that one.

He knows right now that his hair is thinning and that sort of gives him the appearance of a middle-aged man but seriously? _Pedo?!_ That was a bit far, surely?

Adrien suddenly fell sideways when someone elbowed him harshly in the stomach. He lost all footing in his attempt to stay upright and immediately crashed into a girl from the year below.

"Oh God!" he groaned as he used her shoulders to regain his balance, "I am so, so, sor-"

The girl pulled a disgusted face at him. " _Urgh_!" she shrieked as she pushed Adrien away. "Get off of me you creep!"

Adrien staggered down the corridor as person after person shoved, pushed, ad bumped into him. He eventually laid eyes on a familiar blonde ponytail and almost sagged onto the floor in relief at the sight of a friendly (to him) face.

"Chloe!" he cried out delightedly. He reached out and turned her to face him as he grinned radiantly far too pleased for his own good to see someone he knew. "You'd never guess what happened to me to-"

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**!" Chloe screamed into his face. "It's _horrible_!" she wailed. "Hideous! Disgusting! Revolting! Sabrina!" she clicked her fingers hastily. "Get this…this….this… _ **THING**_ out of my face!"

"But Chlo!" Adrien protested. "It's me, Adri-"

"All right bub!" Sabrina barked as she pushed Adrien away. "Back away from the Lady! No means no!"

"Wha…?" Adrien shook his head bewilderedly as Chloe and Sabrina huffed in unison and marched away from him with their heads held up high. It really stung that Chloe acted the way she did but he wasn't really all that surprised. It was _Chloe_. She prided herself on appearances first. He looked about lost for a moment (and a bit fearful that someone will shove him into something a little harder than a human being like a locker or the wall) when his eyes landed on Mylene and Ivan holding hands. He sighed in relief at the sight of familiar, friendly, people, and then grinned. "Hi guys!" he called out. "How are y-?"

" **EEK**!" Mylene squealed as she suddenly ducked behind Ivan. "A-A-Adrien?" she stammered as she nervously peered round Ivan. "Is that _you_?!" she asked flabbergasted. "Oh my God! I am so sorry but you _scared_ me!"

Adrien couldn't help but bristle at that.

He knows he isn't the best looking guy around right this moment but he wasn't that hideous. Mylene was dating Ivan! And no offence to Ivan but Ivan was incredibly intimidating at first glance!

"It's all right," he managed to get through gritted teeth, "I, erm, haven't exactly been having a good day."

"We can see that," Ivan said quietly, "Akuma?"

Adrien nodded.

"Then you should be cured soon enough," Ivan said reassuringly, "and your day will improve."

"Thanks," Adrien mumbled. The bell rang out a warning ring before he could say anything else and he tried to smile cheerfully but Mylene's horrified gasp and Ivan's grimace made him want to shrink back and hide somewhere. "We should go to class!" he said forcefully.

Their journey to their classroom had, thankfully, been uneventful.

Unfortunately the same could not be said for when he entered the classroom. He barely made it pass the threshold when he was suddenly greeted by loud, melodramatic, gasps from his classmates. Nathaniel dropped his pencil noisily, Max moved his head so quickly that his glasses fell off of his face, Kim's jaw dropped unattractively, Rose and Juleka clutched one another, and Alix rudely pointed at him.

"Oh my God!" she yelped. "What ugly train hit you this morning?!"

" _Dude_!" Nino cried out. "What _happened_ to you?!"

"I was attacked by a model-hating Akuma," Adrien explained as he sat down beside Nino, "it hasn't been a good morning so far."

"An _Akuma_?!" Alya and Marinette both yelled out. Marinette sounded horrified and fearful which was rather flattering as Adrien could almost convince himself that it meant she was worried about him. In fact her big blue eyes seemed to have grown larger and rounder with worry as she nibbled her bottom lip anxiously. Adrien felt his stomach do a happy somersault for reasons he couldn't understand. Alya, however, sounded way too ecstatic about Adrien being attacked as she then went on to say; "What happened? Did Ladybug and Chat Noir show up? Was it an epic battle? Are they injured? Is that why you're not cured yet? Hey, can I interview you?"

" _Babe_!" Nino cried out exasperated. "Give the guy a moment to breathe. He's had a rough morning already."

"It's not been that bad," Adrien smiled reassuringly, "I'm sure Ladybug will resolve this in no time."

Marinette gasped as she covered her mouth while Nino and Alya both flinched away from him. "Oh my God!" Marinette cried out. "A-A-Are you right? I-I-I mean right all? No, _gah_ , I mean are you all right?!" she managed to choke out the question coherently and correctly. "Your t-t-t-teeth they look really p-p-p-p-painful!"

"Oh," Adrien licked his teeth. To him they felt exactly as they did this morning after he brushed them. Smooth and squeaky clean with an aftertaste of mint but he was well aware from seeing his own reflection and the faces Nathalie kept pulling whenever he smiled that his teeth looked horrendous. "No, it's all right," he reassured Marinette, "I think it's just an allusion because they don't feel off or in any pain."

"G-Good!" Marinette stammered out determinedly. "I would hate it if you were in pain on top of everything else." He smiled warmly at that and was ready to say something grateful when Marinette suddenly flushed bright red. " _Meep_!" she squeaked as she suddenly ducked down onto her seat and covered her face in embarrassment.

For once though Adrien didn't mind as at least someone wasn't acting differently around him. He sank down into his own seat as he felt tension ease out of him.

"What is **THAT** doing sitting in Adrien's seat like _that_?!" Chloe shrieked as she stepped into the classroom. Her face was flushed with fury, her eyes bulged out, and she pointed at him rudely as if he was a zoo exhibit or something. Adrien instantly tensed up again at the sound of her cross voice. "YOU!" she barked. "Disgusting, filthy, thing, get out of my Adri-kins seat! You're not fit to touch a normal seat let alone the one that cradles my Adri-kins' sort, pert, behind."

Nino snorted into his hand as Adrien blushed at the humiliation.

" _Chloe_!" Marinette shouted indignantly. "Don't be so rude and mean! That _is_ Adrien!"

"What?" Chloe scoffed. "That's not Adrien. Adrien is a billion times more good looking and better dressed than this thing."

" _He_ ," Marinette stressed through gritted teeth, "is wearing the same clothes he always wears. Stop referring Adrien as if he is an object!"

Adrien couldn't help but glow under Marinette's defence. Something sweet fluttered in his stomach as he felt his heart burn with a fierce joy. It was such a relief to know that someone still cared about him regardless of his appearance. This morning has been rather soul destroying with the way people have been behaving.

Chloe's mouth dropped open unattractively. "N-n-no way!" she stuttered. "There is no way this could be my Adri-kins! My Adri-kins is a beautiful specimen of perfection not this…this…this _ugly beast_!" Adrien cringed at that as Marinette spluttered furiously but before either of them could say something Chloe whirled round and clutched her head melodramatically. " _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_ " She screamed. "My dreams of being Mrs Adrien Agreste are now ruined! How can I ever marry t-t-t- _that thing_?!"

"All right, class," Ms Bustier called out as she stepped in, "Settle down. We have a long day ahead of us."

Adrien silently thanked the Gods as Chloe flounced off back to her seat and everyone else turned their attention to their teacher. He was just about to relax and enjoy the peaceful break from all the staring and insults and screams when suddenly Nino shoved his hat onto his head.

"Seriously Dude," Nino muttered, "I keep seeing you from the corner of my eye and freaking out that there's some creepy middle aged perve sitting next me. Keep this on for now."

"Yeah," Adrien mumbled as he slumped down in his seat, "sure thing."

He can't believe he's actually beginning to miss being beautiful.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette wished she sat behind Nino so she could give his chair one hell of a kick!

She was sure Nino didn't mean to come across a tactless douche but he was doing a fine job being one _that was for sure_! Adrien was now entirely slumped down over his desk and she wanted nothing more than to cradle his poor balding head to her bosom and reassure him that everything was going to be fine.

Instead she just flushed at the thought of Adrien being anywhere near her bosom.

She couldn't believe how disgusting people have been behaving towards Adrien. It was so _ridiculous_! Who cared if he was now a little overweight? Or that he was now losing his hair? Or that he had so many spots dotted all over his face? Or even that his teeth was horribly rotted all the way through?

He still had his beautiful, soulful, green eyes.

He still had his kindness, and his good-naturedness, and his honestly, and his bravery, and all that made him so good and pure and true…

Marinette nibbled her lip anxiously.

She wished she could do something to cheer him up, a cute little note, a comforting hug, a special wink, or just _something_! But her stomach twisted up with nerves and guilt. She felt nervous at the thought of any interaction with the love of her life and how she would undoubtedly screw it up. She felt guilty because she was the reason why an Akuma had gotten away with attacking Adrien as she was fast asleep at the time.

If she had been awake she might have somehow found out about the attack while it was happening and have cured Adrien and whoever else has been attacked by now. But _noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_! She had to sleep all the way well past her alarm going off and only just make it to school on time to find out belatedly it had happened. And then to make things worse, she couldn't slip out now and resolve everything as soon as possible. The teachers have been keeping a closer eye on her activities recently and she hadn't been allowed any bathroom runs while class is on as she had stupidly not left the classroom the moment she saw Adrien's face to hunt down the Akuma like she should.

Instead she felt the need to wait and make sure he was physically okay despite his appearance and then waste more time fighting with Chloe when she should be punching an Akuma in the face.

She was so useless at balancing this double life thing.

She now had to wait an hour at least before she could escape and hunt down the Akuma and that was only if she could slip away from Alya's watchful eye between classes.

God knows how many other models will have to suffer in the meantime.

"….and as you know the mayor has recently introduced a new programme to encourage reading for younger students," Ms Bustier's voice finally broke through into Marinette's thoughts. Marinette suddenly jerked physically as she focused back on her teacher again. "Therefore we have been asked to do presentations on a fairy tale of your choosing. They will need to be ready for next week."

The class groaned in unison at that.

A whole presentation on one story that was supposed to fascinate little kids and make them want to read done within a week?

 _Impossible!_

And way too much work!

"I know, I know," Ms Bustier rolled her eyes, "it sounds like far too much work when you could be blogging or playing games but you should all give this a chance. You may actually have fun." Some like Chloe, Kim, and Alix scoffed at this which all earned them an unimpressed raised eyebrow from their teacher. "Now then, I'm going to group you up in pairs and you can pick a fairy tale and start discussing how you would present it before class finishes. First pair, Adrien Agreste and Chloe Bo-"

" _No_!" Chloe snapped as she slammed her hands against her desk. She then pushed her weight on them forcefully as she abruptly stood up and moved her hands onto her hips. "There is no way in hell I am going to be seen side by side with _that!_ " she spat out as she pointed to Adrien. "It will ruin my reputation as the most beautiful surrounded by the most beautiful things."

Marinette gritted her teeth at that.

Adrien wasn't a thing, for starters! He was a living being with his own thoughts and feelings and his so called childhood friend was blatantly crushing those feelings with her stinking selfish shallow attitude.

Marinette wondered if anyone would actually mind if she just _slapped_ Chloe.

"Chloe," Ms Bustier said disapprovingly, "that is cruel and unnecessary. Adrien's appearance has no relevance on this presentation. You will have to learn quickly that in the professional world you will have to work with people regardless of how they look or-"

" _I don't care_!" Chloe interrupted with big, fake, crocodile tears. "I will not spend another moment staring at that horrible, hideous, disgusting face! I want another partner! Or I will call my Daddy right this instance and have all funding pulled from your department!"

Ms Bustier pursed her lips at that. "Very well," she said tightly, "but only because I do not have the patience to deal with your melodrama today. You can partner with Sabrina. Now then Rose, could you-?"

"Actually Miss," Rose interrupted hastily, "could I please work with Juleka? It's not fair if Chloe gets to work with her best friend but we don't."

" _Fine_!" Ms Bustier huffed. "You may choose your own partners."

Adrien eagerly turned to face Nino but much to Marinette's shock Nino immediately leaped back so his chair was resting against their desk. "What do you say, babe?" he asked hurriedly. "Wanna be my partner?"

"Sure," Alya shrugged, "but don't think you're getting out of doing your half of the research."

Adrien's eyes flickered hopefully to the other side of the classroom but, much to Marinette's disgust, the rest of her classmates all scrambled away as quickly as they possibly could to partner up with each other before Adrien could ask any of them to be work with him.

"Oh honestly!" Ms Bustier cried out. She sounded as revolted as Marinette felt as she glowered at the class in disapproval. "Won't any of you work with Adrien?"

 _SCREECH!_

Marinette blushed brightly as her chair nosily scrapped against the floor in her attempt to stand up quickly. Everyone turned to look at her, including Adrien with the sweetest, most adorable, hopeful gleam in his eyes, and she had fight back the urge to suddenly hide her face behind her hands as she met Adrien's beautiful green eyes dead.

"I-I-I-I'll do it!" Marinette stammered as she felt her cheeks burn. "I'll be A-A-A-Adrien's partner!"

And she swore right there and then as Adrien smiled radiantly up at her that she would be the best damn partner he ever had.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette could kick herself for saying she would be Adrien's partner.

Oh not because she didn't _want_ to be Adrien's partner! In fact there was nothing more in the world that she wanted than to spend some more quality time with the love of her life! However it had meant that the moment she made this suggestion she had doomed herself from not being able to sneak off and hunt down the Akuma.

As soon as class had ended she had been prepared to dash off like a crazy person, find somewhere to transform, and then do her job as Ladybug and save the day.

Instead she barely left her desk when she suddenly tripped over her own two feet and barrelled right into Adrien's chest as he turned to talk to her.

" _Whoa_!" Adrien cried out startled as he helped steady Marinette back onto her feet. "Are you all right?"

"Y-y-y- _yes_!" Marinette stammered and squeaked simultaneously. "I-I-I-I'm, ah, erm, guh, fine! You?"

"I'm fine too," Adrien smiled warmly, and though his teeth were so horribly rotten Marinette couldn't help but be taken in how his whole face lit up and his eyes sparkled with genuine joy, "thanks to you. Thank you for saying you'll be my partner."

"Anytime!" Marinette said breathlessly. She then shook her head when she realised how desperately creepy that must have sound. "I, erm, mean it's not problem at all," she said in a much deeper and normal voice.

(She hopes…)

"I just…." Hs smile wavered as a look of hurt flashed into his eyes, "not even Nino would be my partner, you know?" he murmured sadly.

"Well they're all being stupid!" Marinette said fiercely. Her irritation with how everyone else was behaving trumping her usual nerves when talking to Adrien. "I will always be your partner no matter what, okay?"

The joyful sparkle was back in Adrien's eyes and Marinette's heart fluttered at the sight of it as she struggled to bite back a dreamy sigh. "Okay," Adrien said cheerfully, "so because of….well this," he gestured to his face, "the rest of my photoshoots today have been cancelled and I don't have anything else on for once, so, erm, shall we start working on our presentation after school?"

"Yes!" Marinette squeaked happily. "I, erm, would like that," she added less shrilly and desperately.

(God, she really hopes…)

"Excellent," Adrien beamed, "so I'll meet you after school at the school library, yeah?"

"It's a date!" Marinette agreed. "I mean, not a date date, a st-stu-study date! Yeah just two friends studying together, no dating, nope, erm," she rambled nervously, "we're going to be late for class!" she cried out.

And so she ended up being walked to class by Adrien which was heaven but at the same time gave her no chance to escape in order to fight the Akuma. She could, she supposed, have escaped to the bathroom but she couldn't bring herself to abandon Adrien to all of the sneers or gasps in the hallway.

She then planned to leave after the next class but when Adrien had offered Nino's hat back, Nino shook his head hastily. "Nah Dude," he said, "keep it for the day." And she saw Adrien slump down sadly over his desk and her temper flared up that she forgot all about leaving school as she marched up behind Nino on the way to the next class for a confrontation.

"YOU!" Marinette grabbed Nino by the collar of his t-shirt and suddenly pinned him against the side of a locker. It kept them hidden from any teacher or nosey hall monitor's view which allowed her to give Nino all sorts of hell. " _What do you have to say for yourself_?!" she hissed.

"Jesus Christ, Marinette!" Nino yelped, looking mildly terrified. " _What the hell_?!"

"I should be asking you that!" Marinette snarled. "What the hell, Nino? Seriously, _what the hell_?!"

"What?" Nino wailed bewilderedly. "What did I do?!"

" _Are you kidding me_?!" Marinette yelled. "First you shove your hat on Adrien and said that really insensitive comment about him giving you the creeps!"

"He _was_ giving me the creeps!" Nino protested. "It was fine once I covered the balding head."

" _Urgh_!" Marinette groaned in frustration. She knew Nino could be clueless but he was seriously taking it to new freaking levels today. "How do you think someone as sensitive and wonderful as Adrien was going to take a comment like _that?_!" she shook Nino hard at that. "You really hurt his feelings you know!"

"I didn't mean it nastily!"

"It doesn't matter how you meant it, it _sounded_ nasty!" Marinette snapped she pushed Nino away and threw her hands up in the air despairingly. Honestly! _Boys_! "And then you leaped away from him as if he had _leprosery_ or something and refused to be his partner for this presentation."

"No, I jumped in for the chance to have some one on one time with my girl!" Nino corrected. "I have to move quickly or she would have asked _you_ to be her partner." Marinette didn't waver once in her glaring at that though admittedly it did make his actions a little more understandable. Not excusable, but she could understand a little. "Don't worry though," Nino muttered sulkily, "I'm regretting it already she wants to talk about gender inequality in Snow White or Cinderella, or whatever. The research is going to be _hell"_

Marinette grimaced at that. Seeing how these were presentations for little children to encourage them to read she had a feeling that gender inequality was a far too heavy subject to talk about especially when you consider how passionate Alya could be about these sort of things.

She then shook her head rapidly and reminded herself that she needed to still scold Nino. "Good!" she said satisfactorily. " _Suffer_! Because Adrien was devastated. You know that he thought you were rejecting him because he looks ugly now, right?"

"Aw crap!" Nino cursed. "I totally didn't mean to make him think that!"

"Well then go and tell him that and then _apologise_!" Marinette ordered. Nino nodded dumbly and stood there silently for several, painfully dragged out, moments that irritated Marinette to no end. "NOW!" she shouted as she pointed to the hallway.

Nino jumped to attention at that. "Yes Ma'am!" he saluted her.

As soon as Nino marched down the corridor, Marinette was just about to turn and run down in the opposite direction so she could transform when she immediately collided into the maths teacher.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Marinette?" he asked unimpressed. "You're not trying to skive again, are you?"

"No Sir!"

And with that Marinette hastily went into class and delayed her heroes duties another hour. She had tried to sneak away at lunch but apparently the teachers and her parents had been conspiring against her and she was instantly turned back into the school building by the teacher guarding the gate as she was informed that her parents said she was to eat at school this week.

She had no such luck for escape during her afternoon classes and so as soon as the bell rang for the end of the day, she zoomed into the nearest bathroom and dived into a cubicle.

"Tiki!" she called out as she undid her pink purse. " _Trans_ …." She then trailed off dumbly as realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

"What is it, Marinette?" Tiki asked worriedly. "Is something the matter?"

"….Adrien," Marinette murmured, "I'm supposed to meet Adrien at the library, like, as in _now._ "

"I'm sure Adrien will understand," Tiki said softly, "he wouldn't hold it against you for having to miss out on your study session."

"I know, he's so good like that," Marinette said, "but the thing is….he's already been abandoned by so many people because of how he looks. I don't want him to add my name on that list as well. I don't want him to think I've abandoned him too."

"Well," Tiki said thoughtfully, "they do say charity starts at home."

"Huh?" Marinette blinked bewilderedly.

"How can you expect yourself to be a hero for all of Paris when you can't be a hero for your friends?" Tiki explained. "You should stay with Adrien and work on your project together."

"But what about the Akuma?" Marinette asked "What about all the other innocent people he's probably attacking? Shouldn't I go out there and stop him before he attacks every model?"

"If the Akuma was actually physically hurting people I would say yes without a single doubt," Tiki replied, "but so far we haven't heard anything to suggest he's doing anything other than changing their appearance. I see no reason why you can't focus on being a good friend to Adrien and then going after the Akuma later on tonight."

"Okay!" Marinette said, shamefully easily persuaded at that. "But what about Chat?" she asked abruptly when the thought suddenly slapped her in the face. "I can't leave him alone to deal with the Akuma? That's not fair on him!"

"I think you'll find," Tiki said mildly, "that Chat might be busy too."

Not for the first time Marinette suspected that Tiki knew who was behind that black leather mask but like all the other times before, Tiki remained opaque and ambiguous on the subject. Marinette decided to end the conversation and go and meet Adrien before he actually did think she was standing him up.

But, even though Tiki said it was all right, Marinette couldn't help but inwardly squirm the whole walk to the Library about the thought of putting her personal life in front of her superhero duties.

She was really crap at this whole double life thing.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien's day improved vastly after Marinette sweetly offered to be his partner.

People were still being awfully rude from their stares, pointing, whispering, name-calling, and bumping into him but he suddenly found it didn't bother him as much as did it earlier this morning. These people could be as rude as they liked, he had _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_ in his corner!

The very thought kept a warm glow within Adrien that comforted him throughout the day.

Also for the first time since he started school, Chloe hasn't tackled him into a smothering hug or dragged him away from a conversation.

It was rather peaceful.

And then Nino approached him a lunchtime with a rather sheepish expression on his face as he shuffled nervously from foot to foot. Adrien hadn't paid much attention to Nino after their first class together. The events in that class had upset Adrien a bit and he didn't want to seem like an oversensitive cry baby or anything. So he found it best to keep his head down and focus on his work and on good things like Marinette to get through the day to let anyone really approach him.

"Hey Dude," Nino said softly, "how are you doing?"

"All right," Adrien shrugged, "it's been a….interesting day."

"Yeah," Nino agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, "hey listen," he spoke up after a few moments of silence, "it's been pointed out to me that I've been an insensitive prat."

"Really?" Adrien said dryly. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well, having Marinette pin me to the lockers and yell in my face was a pretty big indication," Nino grinned wryly. Adrien felt a happy wiggle at that. He had always seen Marinette stand up for other people and be brave and bold for the rights of other people. She was always so awkward and nervous around him that it never occurred to him that she would extend the same protective care to him. "Adrien," Nino said gently, "you know I don't care about how you look, right? I know in hindsight the hat thing was a dick move but I really was just creeped out by the balding head. You could have as many zits, scars, and whatever on your face and I don't care."

"Thanks," Adrien mumbled. He wasn't entirely whether or not he should believe this. It's amazing how one crappy morning of people changing their attitude towards him has made him so cynical all of a sudden. "But if you don't care about this," he gestured at his face, "then why didn't you partner up with me for the presentation?"

"Dude," Nino cried out, "six words; time with Alya _without_ the Akumas."

"Ah," Adrien said understandingly as a heavy weight on his shoulders suddenly eased up and a small, real, smile flickered on his face. He can get wanting time with the person you loved. In all honesty he would probably throw Nino under a bus for just a few minutes with Ladybug. "Fair enough then."

"So," Nino offered up his fist, "we're cool."

"We're cool," Adrien bumped his fist lightly against Nino's. It still felt odd fist bumping anyone other than Ladybug (it was always _their_ thing!) but he was too chuffed that he hadn't lost a friend to be too bothered by it. Though he was definitely going to torment Nino later about his balding issues. "I'm keeping your hat though."

"All right," Nino chuckled, "so did you listen to that remix I sent you last night?"

Lunch and the afternoon classes slipped away quickly in contentment. When the bell rang he hastily ducked into the boy's bathroom and as soon as he was in a cubicle he ripped open his school bag.

"Plagg!" he said firmly. " _Trans_ …." He trailed off pathetically as realisation sank into him.

Plagg, however, lazily blinked his big, unimpressed, neon green eyes. "Yes?" he drawled. "You wanted something?"

"Marinette," Adrien murmured softly.

"Look, Kid," Plagg said in full snark, "I know I'm magic and everything but I don't have the ability to physically give you a girlfriend. You have to do that one on your own."

"What?" Adrien yelped. " _No_!" he flushed. "I didn't mean _that!_ I just meant that that I can't transform and hunt down the Akuma because I have to meet Marinette at the library, like _now._ "

"Does that mean I get the afternoon off?" Plagg asked hopefully. "Because I was in the middle of a really good dream about-"

"Hang on!" Adrien frowned. "Aren't you supposed to tell me that I need to do my heroic duty and hunt down this Akuma before he does any more harm to the citizens of Paris?"

"First thing," Plagg yawned, "you're like _eight hours too late_ on that one." Oops? Adrien had totally forgotten about that what with being dragged home by Nathalie, personally escorted to school by the Gorilla, and then everything he went through during the day. "secondly the Akuma is only changing how one looks, so far he's not actively hurting anyone so I think you're all right on that account, and thirdly, you don't want to upset your precious _Princess_ after she so gallantly stood up for you, now do you?"

And with that Adrien found himself easily persuaded to abandon his duties as Chat Noir (May Ladybug forgive him) and met Marinette in the library.

Because if there was one thing he couldn't bear more than anything in the world is giving Marinette a reason to think her wariness and previous (perhaps even present?) dislike of him was justified.

They met at the door as they simultaneously dashed down the corridor from opposite ends. Marinette had almost collided into him when she suddenly tripped over nothing and he barely caught her in time.

"Hey," he grinned.

"H-h-h- _hi_!" Marinette squeaked. Her cheeks were bright pink almost bordering red and her eyes were bright with what Adrien desperately hoped was joy. "You are how?" she asked. There was a quick, hasty, silence that lasted two seconds in which Marinette abruptly realised what she said. "I-I-I-I mean are how you? _Gah_! No!" she cried out as she shook her head. "I mean _how are you_?!"

"I'm fine," Adrien said, unable to resist the urge to chuckle slightly, "as good as I can be considering. "

Marinette frowned worriedly at that. "No one has been giving you a hard time have they?" she asked.

"No more than they give anyone else a hard time," he said soothingly as possible, "apart from Chloe's outburst, and you know, almost everyone else's refusal to be my partner on this project. It's been okay."

"Hmm," Marinette hummed disapprovingly. "As long as you're all right."

"I'm fine," he reassured her as he rubbed soothing circles on her hips with his thumbs. There is a long, terribly dragged out, silent moment as Marinette's cheeks deepened into a dark red. Realisation slapped Adrien in the face as he hastily yanked his hands away. "I, erm, ah, so have you any idea what Fairy Tale we should do?"

"N-n-n-n-no!" Marinette stammered out. "Y-y-you?"

"I thought maybe, erm, that we would read a book together and pick one out together?" he asked anxiously. "Is that all right?"

"Y-Y-Yeah!"

So they settled down together at a table in the library with a big book of Fairy Tales between them as they read in silence. Every so often their fingers accidentally brushed against one another as they fumbled to turn a page and they mumbled awkward, stuttered, apologies to one another.

It was very familiar and comforting and yet, for some reason, Adrien couldn't help but question it.

"Hey Marinette," he said nervously, "I, erm, wanted to know…it's just that….well…everyone has been different, because you know," he waved awkwardly at his face, "but you…you're still the same…so, I wanted to know, well…. _why_?"

"Oh!" Marinette flushed. "I, well, you see…you know how they say that your eyes are the windows to your soul?!" Adrien nodded dumbly as Marinette ducked her head, her cheeks so red that they were almost purple, "Well you're nice, and friendly, and sweet, and kind, and honest, and brave, and I really like all that about you, and I when I used to look in your eyes before that I saw it all, and now when I look in your eyes, I still see it all because the important things haven't changed. You might look ugly according to the rest of the world but to me…." She faltered a little as she self-consciously tucked some hair behind her ears and smiled sweetly to herself as she kept her eyes trained onto the book, "well to me," she said quietly and sincerely, "you're still the most beautiful person I know."

"…Marinette…" Adrien murmured stupefied as he was unable to keep himself from gazing at her wonderingly. A thought prickled at him as he took in Marinette shy body language, bright red cheeks, and the way she has always stammered around him. "Do you…I mean…well…do you….li-li-like m-"

" _Unbelievable_ ," a voice drawled from behind them. Adrien and Marinette whipped round to find the Akuma leaning against the bookcase with, what Adrien assumed was, a disdainful glare on its twisted face. "I make you the ugliest thing in this school and you _still_ have pretty girls throwing themselves at you?!"

" _Meep!_ "

Marinette let out an embarrassed, strangled, squeak as she jumped out of her seat. Adrien also leaped out of his chair as an indignant protest was on the tip of his tongue but before either he or Marinette could defend themselves the Akuma lifted up his mirror as a beam of light shot out towards them.

Without even thinking about it, Adrien tackled Marinette down onto the floor and rolled them both out of the way.

"YOU!" the Akuma bellowed furiously. "I will make you understand! One way or another you will suffer the burdens of being picked on for your appearance like the rest of us mere mortals!"

He held up his mirror for another attack but Adrien hastily swiped the library book off of the table and threw it at the Akuma. It smacked into the Akuma's stomach with a satisfying thump and distracted the Akuma long enough for Adrien to haul Marinette back into her feet and start a mad dash out of the Library.

They race down the corridor hand in hand as Adrien frantically tried to figure out a plan of action. He obviously had to ditch Marinette so he could transform and preferably he would rather leave her somewhere safe where she was unlikely to be attacked merely for her association with him.

She didn't deserve to make into a target for a bitter monster simply because she was being a good friend to Adrien.

So as soon as he spotted an empty classroom he promptly shoved Marinette through the door. He grimaced as he sent the girl flying across the floor and land on her knees roughly but he refused to feel too guilty about it if it meant he kept her safe from any harm.

"Sorry!" he yelled as he slammed the door shut. "But it's for your own good! The Akuma is after me, not you!"

And with that he hastily ducked into his own private spot between a locker and another classroom door before he flung open his schoolbag.

"Urgh!" Plagg groaned grumpily. "What is it this time?"

"Plagg!" Adrien said firmly, " _Transform Me_!"

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette felt like she was going to be sick.

She hadn't gone after the Akuma like she knew she should have done and now Adrien was in grave danger. She had chosen to be selfish and now Adrien was going to pay the consequences. She had made the wrong choice.

"Marinette!" Tiki cried out. "Marinette! _Breathe_! You need to breathe!"

" _Tiki!_ " Marinette gasped. "Tiki! Adrien! He's in danger and it's all my fault!"

"No it isn't," Tiki said firmly, "the Akuma wasn't hurting anyone before this. He was quite happy just changing people's appearance. This is obviously Hawk Moth's fault, pushing the Akuma to do more so you and Chat Noir will make an appearance."

This didn't reassure Marinette at all because now it was _even more_ her fault. The Akuma wasn't hurting people until it was clear that she wasn't going to show up.

She was a total failure at this superhero thing.

"Tiki!" she moaned. "I have to save him!"

"Well," Tiki said patiently, "you know what to do."

"Tiki!" Marinette cried out. " _Transform M_ e!"

Within seconds Ladybug burst out of the classroom and darted down the corridor. She fortunately didn't have far to go as she found the Akuma screeching just round the corner for Adrien.

She let out soft sigh of relief that Adrien had managed to escape before she took a deep breath, straightened up so that her chest pushed up heroically, and set her best, determined, fighting face on.

She then flung her yoyo out and smacked the Akuma in the back of his head. He whirled round as he howled furiously. "Hey you!" she shouted crossly. "Pick on someone else!"

"Gladly!" the Akuma snarled as a purple, glowing, outline of a butterfly appeared on his twisted face, "Let's see how long Chat Noir will hang around when you no longer have your looks."

And with that the Akuma raised his mirror and sent out a blast that Ladybug barely dodged. He sent several more blasts which Ladybug either dodged or deflected them with her yoyo. She had just deflected one when a surprise second one blinded her as it hastily approached her….

…and then she felt a slight burn graze her cheek as two, warm, strong arms pulled hr out of the way.

"Careful Bugaboo," Chat Noir smirked, she knew he did because she could hear it in his voice, the _smug, self-satisfied, stupid cat_! "It would be a tragedy if we lost the beauty of your face, My Lady."

"You flatter Kitty," Ladybug shrugged herself out of his embrace, "but I very much doubt that it wou- _Oh my God_!" she interrupted herself. Shock, guilt, and dread filled her up as she took in the change in her Kitty. His slim, hard, muscled body had vanished entirely into rolls of fat, he looked like a middle-aged, washed out, actor trying to squeeze into a superhero suit from his heyday. "D-d-did you just take that hit for me?"

"As much as I would be honoured to take the hit for you," Chat said sweetly, "I did not. _This_ ," he waved at himself, "happened earlier today. I told you before, My Lady," he took her hand and pressed the lightest of kisses on her knuckles, "beneath the mask I am a breathtakingly gorgeous model."

"I fully believe," Ladybug smiled, "that you have the arrogance of a breathtakingly gorgeous model."

" _Meow_ -ch!" Chat clutched his chest melodramatically. "That hurt, right there," he said as he gave it a thump.

"I suspect you'll live," Ladybug rolled her eyes, "now let's deal with this Akuma."

Chat gave a mock courtly bow. "Ladies first," he purred.

They spent far too much time having to dodge and deflect the Akuma's attacks while trying to get their own punches and kicks in. what felt like years of fighting and getting nowhere, Chat suddenly cried out;

"The mirror! I think the Akuma is in the mirror!"

"Right!" Ladybug said determinedly as she flung her yoyo up in the air, "Lucky Charm!" Something light and papery fluttered back down into her hands. " _Huh_?!" Ladybug yelped bewilderedly as she held up the Lucky Charm. "An _Adrien Agreste ma_ sk?" she squeaked. " _What do I do with this_?!"

"I believe I can be of service there," Chat plucked the mask out of her fingers, "I'll be the distraction and you take out the Akuma."

Ladybug spluttered as Chat slipped the paper mask over his face. "Hey Ugly!" he hollered out. "U.G.L.Y, you got not alibi," Chat sang out tauntingly as Ladybug face palmed exasperatedly, "Hey! You ugly!"

The Akuma let out an enraged screech.

"Hey!" Chat sang out. "You ugly!"

The Akuma dived for an attack.

"Hey!" Chat dodged it. "You ugly!"

Ladybug threw out her yoyo and it wrapped round the mirror. She quickly yanked it out of the Akuma's hand and flung it against the wall, shattering the glass and sending out a dark, purple, butterfly fluttering away to freedom.

"Oh no you don't!" Ladybug growled as she threw out her yoyo again. The yoyo opened up and captured the butterfly with ease. "No more evil doing for you little Akuma. Time to de-evilize." Her compact opened up released a pure, white, butterfly to freedom. "Bye, bye, little butterfly" she called out sweetly as she waved after it. She then tossed her yoyo up in the air one last time. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"

There is a burst of little red ladybugs that raced across the school and throughout the city as the cure worked its magic.

Th Akuma faded away into a scrawny, pimply, greasy-haired teenager who looked down at his hands in a mix of bewilderment and despair.

Ladybug turned to face Chat triumphantly as she held up her fist for their customary fist bump. She faltered as her arm dropped down to her side and horror welled up within her.

For the first time since….well the first time, she had failed her duty as Ladybug.

She failed to do her job.

She was a complete, utter, failure.

….Chat Noir had not been cured.


	4. Chapter 4

Ladybug stared up at him horror-struck.

Chat Noir stood there like a lemon with his arm awkwardly held up for a fist bump that never happened. Ladybug's arm had dropped away limply at her side as she continued to gawk at him with that horrified stare. Her big, beautiful, eyes wide and fearful, her mouth dropped open unattractively, and her skin an unnaturally chalky white.

Slowly, Chat let his own arm fall to his side as concern welled up within him. "What is it?" he asked insistently. "What's the matter?"

"Y-y-y-your face!" Ladybug stuttered. "It's not cured!"

It took him a moment to realise what she meant and when he did it took him even longer to figure out how he felt about it.

In fact he wasn't entirely sure whether it was bad thing or a good thing that he wasn't cured.

"Oh," he murmured. Ladybug's horrified expression didn't lessen for a single second as her eyes remained rooted on his now forever hideous face which caused him to shift uncomfortably on the balls of his feet. "Is that a problem?" he asked self-consciously. "Am I really that ap- _paw_ -ling to look at? Maybe you should swap me for someone better looking."

That seemed to snap Ladybug out of her funk a little bit. "God, Kitty," Ladybug rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter to me _what_ you look like. You'll always be my annoying pun-dropping partner and I'll never want to swap you for anyone else no matter how much you _bug_ me."

Any other day he would celebrate the fact that Ladybug willingly used a pun and then torment her with it for the rest of their time together but today had been such a crummy day with emotional upheavals left, right, and centre, that he could only muster a smile of appreciation.

"And I don't care what I look like," he said quietly but firmly, "so it's no big deal, right?"

"Of course!" Ladybug agreed enthusiastically. "It's just….it's just…..it's just that my Miraculous Cure failed!" she blurted out. "It's _never_ failed like this before! What if I'm losing strength or something because I'm such a rubbish Ladybug? What if this is me stuffing up my superhero duties because I can't get the balance right between this and my civilian life?" Ladybug paused in her babbling for a moment to fiercely rub her eyes with her fists. Chat's heart wobbled at the thought that she was in near tears over this. "God, Chat," she whispered fearfully, "what if you and everyone else is stuck like this forever simply because I didn't do what was right and hunt down the Akuma sooner?"

"Hey," he said softly as he reached out for her hand. "It's all right Bugaboo." He said reassuringly as he squeezed her hand comfortingly. He then pulled her close and wrapped his arms round her. His heart fluttered as he felt her own arms wrap round him and her face nuzzle into his neck as she breathed in deeply. "Everything is going to be all right. I'm sure this has nothing to do with you being weak or not getting the balance right," he said gently as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. "I can't always get the balance right either and it's never affected my powers. So it _can't_ be your fault. We'll figure it out together like we always do."

"Y-y-yeah," Ladybug said shakily, "you're right. We always do."

He squeezed her close as he closed his eyes and breathed in her scent as he nuzzled her soft, soft hair. She always smelt like flowery shampoo and cookies to him, it was like coming home, or rather a home he always dreamed of rather than his actual home.

 _Beep, beep! Beep, beep!_

They jerked apart hastily at the loud, sudden, noise and Ladybug's hands went to her ears. "I'm almost out of time," she said apologetically, "I'll need to recharge. Meet up later? We can then brainstorm on what we can do to fix this."

"Sure thing," he nodded as he plucked her hand and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. His heart leaped for joy over the fact she didn't pull away in revulsion or make a disgusted face or anything. She reacted exactly the same as she always did as she playfully pulled away with a light eye roll. "I'll see you later."

 _Beep, beep! Beep, beep!_

Ladybug murmured a goodbye before she hastily dashed down the corridor leaving Chat Noir with the Akuma victim. The teenage boy was on his knees as he stared at the ground with a dumbstruck expression. His face was plain but pimply and his hair was lanky and greasy and there was nothing pleasant about the way he smelled.

Chat had no doubt that life hadn't been kind to this boy because of this and his heart went out to him.

"Hey," he said softly as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "everything is going to be all right."

" _What the hell do you know_?!" the boy yelled bitterly as he shoved Chat Noir away. "You might be _ugly_ now but you hadn't have to go through the insults, and bullying, and being turned down by the girl you like. Nothing is going to be all right. _It never freaking_ _is_!"

And with that the boy stormed away to leave Chat Noir loitering pathetically in the corridor by himself.

He ducked into a nearby classroom and released his transformation as sat down bewilderedly.

"You're all right, Kid?"

"Yeah," Adrien mumbled, "just….confused, how come the cure didn't work this time?"

"You saw that kid, didn't you?" Plagg said lazily. "Very bitter little thing, wasn't he? He was blatantly running on negative emotions all the time which made him a lot stronger than your average Akuma. His magic had a little more _oomph_."

"Really?" Adrien said sceptically. "That's _why?_!"

Plagg shrugged. "You'd be surprised how emotions make you lot so weirdly powerful times."

"Huh."

It kinda made sense, he suppose. It didn't really matter though because he didn't really care about the why.

"Does it matter?" Plagg asked curiously, "that you're not cured? I mean this way you never have to do another photoshoot again. Think of all the free time we can have."

Adrien had to admit he wouldn't mind not having to ever go to another photoshoot. He could use that free time to hang out with Nino or play video games with Marinette and actually go to class outings with all of his classmates and not miss out of anything.

But a really vain, teenage boy, part of him would much rather look like a sex god to Ladybug rather than a hideous, fat, balding man.

"True," he agreed.

"And look at it this way, Kid," Plagg said, "this way you know who your real friends are." A sly, teasing, smirk danced across his face. "Like your _Princess_."

Realisation smacked into Adrien like a ton of bricks.

 _Marinette!_

He had forgotten about _Marinette_!

The last time he had seen her he had literally shoved her into another classroom as he led the Akuma away from her. For all he knew Marinette got caught up in an Akuma attack while he was busy transforming or she had fallen from his shove and hit her head on the floor hard and got a concussion!

Fear and worry seized hold of his vital organs making it hard for him to breathe and yet filling him with the urge to puke.

" _Marinette_!" he gasped. "I have to go and find Marinette!"

And without a second thought he yanked open the classroom door and did a hundred mile per hour dash down the corridor.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Ladybug barely made it back to the classroom when her transformation wore off.

"I failed Tiki," she murmured horrified, "I failed to cure people."

Tiki hovered close to Marinette's terrified face. "Oh Marinette!" she cooed as she nuzzled Marinette's cheek lightly. "It's going to be all right."

" _How_?!" Marinette cried out. "How could the Miraculous Cure _fail?_! It has never failed before!"

"It has never failed before for _you_ ," Tiki corrected, "there has been previous occasions when Miraculous Cure has failed. Our magic is not all-powerful, Marinette, there are some limitations."

"Really?" Marinette sniffled slightly. She was embarrassed to admit she was very close to tears over her failure which she hated with a blazing passion which didn't help her misery whatsoever and pushed her even closer to tears. _Urgh_. "But why this Akuma?" she asked. "Why couldn't I cure the effects of this Akuma? I've cured people's appearances before, like with Reflekta."

"The Akuma is slightly different," Tiki explained patiently, "all of your other Akuma were usually caught in a moment of negative emotion that they usually don't feel all that often. They're not as powerful. This Akuma, however, was obviously a very bitter boy. I don't think life had been kind to him for a very long time and therefore he had a lot more negativity that he used to power his spells."

"Oh," Marinette blinked, "I see."

And she kinda did.

Because when she thought about it all, and she means all, of her previous Akumas had been caused by one incident. Max for his loss at a chance to be in the tournament, Alya for being suspended, Alix because her watch broke, Kim because was rejected in the most humiliating way, Chloe because Ladybug shouted at her, and so on and so on. So an Akuma driven my something that hurt him, angered him, and made him bitter, day in and day out, would be a lot stronger than the average Akuma.

But that still didn't explain how she was going to fix what has happened.

"But that still doesn't explain how I am going to fix this all!" she wailed. "Tiki! _What am I going to do_?! Adrien and Chat Noir and God knows how many innocent models have all been affected by this. Their lives could be ruined by this because I wasn't strong enough."

"You're are more than strong enough, Marinette," Tiki said soothingly, "this isn't about you being strong enough. It's just sometimes some spells are little trickier to undo that's all." Marinette crossed her arms in an attempt to comfort herself. She bit down hard on her bottom lip as she fought back the urge to argue. "You can cure Adrien and Chat, Marinette," Tiki carried on softly, "you just have to use something else other than Miraculous Cure. Something far more powerful."

"Another power?" Marinette asked hesitatingly. "Are you going to teach me another attack or something?"

"No silly!" Tiki giggled. "This is something far simpler and more universal. You should know you have done it before."

" _I have_?!" Marinette yelped. There is a long, drawn out, silence as Tiki eyed Marinette with amused expectation that only served to make Marinette more nervous. She nibbled and gnawed at her bottom lip anxiously as she rummaged through every corner of her brain and still couldn't figure out when she had used something more powerful than her powers as Ladybug. "Tiki!" she groaned. "I can't figure it out. Can't you give me a clue or something?"

"Well," Tiki's eyes sparkled with mirth and amusement. Marinette strongly suspected that Kwami was secretly laughing at her. "Let's just say there's a grain of truth in every Fairy Tale."

 _A grain of truth in every Fairy Tale,_ Marinette turned the phrase over and over in her mind, _a grain of truth in every Fairy Tale…. a grain of truth in every Fairy Tale…. a grain of truth in every Fairy Tale…._

Somehow Marinette didn't think Tiki was hinting at evil stepmothers or poisoned apples or talking cats that can walk like a human or giant beanstalks that grow over night or anything else equally ridiculous yet incredibly possible now that she knew magic did exist in some shape or form.

It had to be something that most of them had in common and something she had done herself in another Akuma battle, something like Valentine's Day when she planted a true ( _ **PLATONIC!**_ She cannot stress this enough!) love's kiss on-

Realisation suddenly slammed into her as her cheeks burned bright red and her eyes widened. "Y-y-you mean _true love's kiss_?!" she squeaked.

"Of course!" Tiki beamed. "Love is the most powerful magic there is. You should know that by now Marinette."

" _Mpfl_!" Marinette squealed incoherently. "Ti-Ti-Tiki!" she stammered out. "Are you telling me that to cure **ALL** of the Akuma's victims, Adrien, Chat, and God knows how many more, I have to _kiss_ them?!"

"Of course not," Tiki said, "you don't truly love most of the Akuma victim but I wouldn't worry. Everyone has _someone_ that truly loves them and they'll be able to cure them. You just have to kiss Adrien and Chat Noir."

Marinette's hands flew up to clutch her face so quickly that she accidentally slapped herself. "GAH!" she let out a strangled yell. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Well, I mean, I can kiss Chat," Marinette rambled, "I know that will work. He's my partner and best friend of course I truly love him, you know, _platonically_." Tiki hummed in a non-committal manner but Marinette could practically hear her screaming that Marinette was in denial. " _It is!"_ she insisted firmly. "Pure, platonic, love. Like with Alya."

"If you say so, Marinette."

 **ARGH**! Marinette inwardly screamed with frustration but she wasn't going to press the point because she had something much more worrisome to think about. "I do," she said calmly, "b-b-but," she stammered out as she quickly lost her cool, "w-w-what if I k-k-k-ki-ki-kiss Adrien and it _doesn't work_?!"

"Oh Marinette," Tiki murmured softly, "if anything about today has taught the world something it is that you do truly love Adrien. Your kiss would work."

Marinette flushed at that. She tried to speak but nothing came out and there was several, painfully, awkward moments where she made fish faces before her voice finally started working again. "Y-y-yeah," she mumbled, "but he doesn't truly love me back."

"You don't know that!" Tiki protested. "Besides," she said brightly, "it doesn't matter. It's the kisser that has to have the true love not the one being kissed."

Marinette could collapse face first like an anime character at that. She really could but instead she barely managed to keep hold of her composure. "All right," she said determinedly, "so true love's kiss it is then."

"So," Tiki asked slyly, "who are you going to cure first? Adrien or Chat Noir."

"….Chat," Marinette said quietly but firmly, "he's my partner and I owe it to him to have his back as much as he has mine. We're meeting him again as soon as we can both recharged as well. So I will be seeing him first."

She had no doubt that even if Adrien had been hanging around to make sure she was safe that his bodyguard would have hauled him back home to safety by now. She might not see him till tomorrow and suddenly the thought of having to try and kiss Adrien anytime soon made her want to hide under her bed from the petrified mortification of how he would react to such an assault on his body.

"All right," Tiki said with an amused twinkle in her big, blue eyes. Once again Marinette had the suspicion she was being laughed at. "I will need some cookies then please."

"Coming right u…" Marinette trailed off as she glanced in her pink purse to find nothing but cookie crumbs littering the lining. She looked up unimpressed at Tiki. "There's no cookies left," she said flatly, "I had put enough in there to last you two days."

"What can I say?" Tiki said as innocently as possible as she pulled the biggest, most adorable, puppy dog eyes she could ( _damn her!_ she knows that's Marinette biggest weakness!). "It had been a very long day. I was hungry."

Marinette sighed. She would have pursued the matter but she had more important concerns to worry about. "It's okay," she reassured her Kwami, "it's not a big deal. We'll just run home and get some more. Recharge there and then give Chat a bell."

"That," Tiki beamed radiantly, "sounds like a fine plan."

And with that Tiki zipped back into Marinette's purse and Marinette darted out of the door. She was so determined to get this over and done with (so she didn't fail as a superhero, a partner, and a friend) that she ran full speed down the corridor.

She turned round the corner sharply when she suddenly crashed into something warm and hard. " _Oof!_ " she groaned as she staggered back.

The person that she collided into also careened backwards and instinctively reached out to grab hold of her hand in attempt to steady himself. Unfortunately for them both Marinette tripped over thin air and instead pushed him backwards so they landed on the floor with a loud smack.

Gravity then continued to betray Marinette has the force of the fall caused her slip upwards on top of her victim and her lips landed soundly on top of his own.

 _POOF!_

There was a cloud of pink smoke that cleared away almost instantaneously and Marinette soon found herself gazing into the most beautiful, stunning, green eyes that she had ever seen. Only, unlike the majority of the past day, those eyes were now set in flawlessly perfect sun-kissed skin in which the fat had melted away from those sharp, high, equally gorgeous cheekbones, and soft, full, thick, silky gold hair flopped over his forehead.

It took Marinette a full minute to realise that Adrien Agreste was now fully cured from the Akuma attack earlier.

It then took another full minute for her to realise that that soft pressure against her lips were Adrien's lips.

"OH MY GOD!" Marinette yanked her mouth away from Adrien's as she suddenly shot up to a sitting position. It then occurred to her that she was _straddling_ Adrien Agreste and she hastily began to scramble away. "I am so sorry!" she cried out. " _Oh my God_! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm – _oh my God_!" she babbled incoherently. " _Oh my God_! I am so, so, so, sorry!"

Adrien blinked bewilderedly. "It's okay," he said kindly as he touched his lips lightly. Marinette cringed, super-grateful that he hadn't instantly wiped his mouth in disgust, "it was an accident. Mari-"

Marinette had successfully (barely) managed to stagger onto her feet. " **I AM SORRY**!" she interrupted with an embarrassing wail and then, before Adrien could say anything about her mauling him, she did a hundred mile per an hour dash right out of the school.

She didn't stop until she was in the safe haven of her bedroom (undoubtedly confusing and worrying the hell out of her parents as she blew right past them) and when she did, she immediately threw herself onto her bed and buried her face into her pillow.

She hoped to smother herself to death before the police came to arrest her for sexual assault.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien's lips were still tingling.

He had tried to go after Marinette but he had barely made it out of the school when the Gorilla suddenly hauled him into the limo to go home. It was then when Adrien caught sight of his reflection in the window and realised that he had been cured.

He jerked back in surprise and almost smacked his head against the leather seat he had been so surprised. He hadn't had the time to process what exactly cured him as he was immediately smothered by Nathalie.

Well, he says _smothering_ but Nathalie isn't the smothering type. She just kept giving him a small, pleased, smile throughout dinner, her relief palpable, and she awkwardly patted his shoulder when she said her goodbyes.

For Nathalie that was downright affectionate.

He then had a meeting with his father which was brief but extremely intense and stressful. Every minute with his father these days were intense and stressful though. Adrien struggled to remember a time when he didn't suddenly sit up straight in his father's presence and spoke in a polite monotone as he retrained himself from screaming furiously into his father's face.

"I see that your ailment has been cured," his father said stiffly, "I am pleased to see that there is no blemishes from your ordeal."

Adrien gritted his teeth at that. Was that _all_ his father cared about? That Adrien's skin was perfect once more? Not that Adrien had been put through an emotional rollercoaster as he quickly discovered who his real friends?

It was times like this Adrien wished he could have his Chat Noir confidence twenty four seven just so he could tell his father where to stuff it.

Instead though he gave his father a strained, polite, smile. "Yes Father," he said quietly, "I am perfectly fine."

"Good," his father said pleased, "now then," he leaned forwards and rested his chin on his fingers, "it is too late for you to keep the rest of your modelling engagements this week. Nathalie has already cancelled the lot and has started rearranging the appointments therefore you can enjoy the extra free time this week but I want you to be prepared to work extra hard from next Monday onwards. We may have to pull you out of sch-"

"Not on Monday!" Adrien interrupted alarmed. His father gazed at him disapprovingly for what he considered Adrien's poor manners but Adrien ploughed on through determined to not let Marinette, sweet, lovely, Marinette who stuck her own neck out for him earlier today, down on the presentation they were both supposed to give. "I am sorry, Father," Adrien sad hastily, "but I have a class presentation to give for the Mayor's reading initiative and I cannot let my partner down."

His father's gaze was importable but after a painfully long silence, his father's lips gave the smallest of twitches. Adrien almost believes it was an attempt at smiling. _Almost._ It must be a very cold day in hell for his father to smile. "Very well," his father said calmly, "we cannot have you being unreliable. It breeds bad habits for when you are older. You may have next Monday off as well but I assure you Nathalie will have you booked from Tuesday onwards."

"Yes Father."

"Very well," his father leaned back into his chair and waved a lazy hand, "you are dismissed."

Adrien nodded silently and trudged out of his father's office feeling more downhearted than he had all day. It really wouldn't kill his father to tell him that he loved him, or that he was proud of Adrien, or even that he was glad that Adrien was okay.

It would also be nice if his father could just hug him once in a while but obviously that was too much to ask for.

But Adrien resolved to not let it upset him too much after all he managed to wrangle not letting Marinette down and that was a ginormous achievement where his father was concerned.

He couldn't wait to tell Marinette that he can definitely spend all week working on the presentation with her!

And that was when it hit him like a ton of bricks.

He had kissed _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_!

It had been a complete and utter accident but he had _kissed_ her! Their lips had actually _touched_. He had actually mauled one of his best friends. He may have just inadvertently ruined one of the few, real, true friendships he had just because he had been running without looking.

And then there was this added fact that Marinette apparently had magic lips because he can't figure out how else his appearance reverted back to normal.

How was he going to look her in the eye let alone _speak_ with her tomorrow?!

In desperate need of advice (because Lord knows Plagg was useless in this situation. In fact the moment he brought up the kiss his stupid, smug, Kwami burst out cackling before he stuffed his face with cheese), Adrien scoured the pages of the later volumes of _Ouran High School Host Club_. He could have sworn that the heroes Tamaki and Haruhi had an accidental kiss like his and Marinette they had researched the cliché with manga and came to the solution.

Sadly though, he quickly discovered that neither Tamaki nor Haruhi had been able to find the solution and he dropped his book in despair.

" _Urgh_!" he clutched at his hair and tugged hard. "This is absolutely useless! Plagg," Adrien cried out desperately, "what do you _do_ when you accidentally kiss your friend?!"

"We've been through this before, Kid," Plagg drawled out in a bored tone, "I don't get into stupid situations like this. I stick to cheese."

" _Urgh_!" Adrien moaned again pathetically. "Do you at least know why I am suddenly cured?"

"Eh," Plagg shrugged, "the science behind true love kiss is a mystery beyond even Kwami understanding." Adrien choked at that but before he could splutter out an argument against that particular theory (he was ninety five per cent sure that Marinette just saw him as a friend and even that might not be true now he accidentally yanked her lips onto his) Plagg carried on; "oh by the way, Kid," he said lazily, "Ladybug has been trying to call you for the last hour you might want to transform."

Adrien really spluttered at that. " _Plagg_!" he snapped crossly. "Couldn't you have told me _sooner?_! Like when Ladybug _first_ tried to call?!"

She must think he was the most unreliable partner ever thanks to his lazy excuse of a Kwami.

"Meh," Plagg shrugged again, "I'm telling you now. Are you going to answer or what?"

Adrien took a deep, soothing, breath and counted to ten. "I'll answer," he said calmly, "Plagg! _Transform me_!"

As soon as he was Chat Noir he pulled out his baton to see the green paw flashing and happily pulled out the screen to see Ladybug's pretty face screwed up in her best determined expression.

"Chat I have figured out how to cure you!" she exclaimed. "All I have to do is ki- wait," she interrupted herself as she actually took a moment to really see him, "you're _cured_!" she yelped. " _How did that happen_?!"

"Well it turned out," Chat grinned, "that all I needed was a kiss from a Princess."

Ladybug's face hardened at that as she pursed her lips. "Oh," she said in a strained voice, "and exactly _which_ one of your princesses was this one?"

" _Meow_ -ch, My Lady!" Chat smirked, unable to keep the ecstatic smugness from rising up within him. Ladybug sounded mighty jealous that he had kissed another girl which would mean that she had feelings for him! He could dance, in fact, he was sort of doing a squirming sitting down dance from the giddiness of it all. "There's no need to get your claws out, I'm not a Tom Cat prowling the streets. I'm a house cat content with one mistress. I only have one Princess."

"Uhuh," Ladybug said disbelievingly.

"I _do!_ " Chat persisted.

" _Really_ , Kitty?" Ladybug asked sceptically. "And what exactly is the name of this one and only princess of yours?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Chat replied promptly, "she is my only Princess."

"Y-y-y-you ki-ki-kissed Marinette Dupain-Cheng _today_?!" Ladybug squeaked. Her cheeks have suddenly turned a bright magenta and a rather nervous, petrified, and yet hopeful look all rolled into one. "You're really sure that you kissed _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_ today?!"

"Yes, I have told you that I only have _one_ Princess and that is Marinette," Chat said firmly, "but never fear Bugaboo!" he cried out in a much lighter and flirtatious voice as he waggled his eyebrows. "You are the only Lady of my heart! There is no need for you to be jealous."

" _I'm not jealous_!" Ladybug shouted.

Her blush was now a deep scarlet red that almost matched her mask. In fact if it wasn't for the black polka dots on her mask he might not be able to tell the difference and believe he was looking at her actual face.

He smirked at this. She was _so_ jealous and he was most definitely _loving_ it. "If you say so," he said as casually as possible, "but you really have nothing to be worr-"

"Y-y-y-you kn-kn-know what?" Ladybug interrupted quickly. "I only called to let you know I could cure you but since you're already cured there's no need." She laughed awkwardly at that. It was a loud, unnatural, anxious laugh that sounded vaguely familiar but he had never heard Ladybug laugh so nervously before in his life. "So I, erm, you, well….see you at school tomorrow!" she blurted out.

And with that the screen in Chat Noir's baton went pitch black.

"Huh," Adrien said bewilderedly as he released his transformation. Plagg gave a little cat-like stretch as he yawned obnoxiously and Adrien shifted so he could stretch his legs out as well. "I wonder what was bothering Ladybug if she wasn't jealous then?"

"Beats me, Kid," Plagg said as he flew straight towards his cheese stash, "this is why I stick to cheese."

Adrien rolled his eyes at that but didn't comment on Plagg's blatant cheese addiction. There was simply not point in doing so. Instead he got up from the floor and had a nice, relaxing, shower as he cheerfully thought about Ladybug being jealous. Then as he brushed his teeth he was suddenly plagued with worry about what exactly he was going to say to Marinette when he saw her in the morning and then by the time he got into bed his mind went haywire with thoughts about his day, how awful Chloe proved to be, how shallow majority of the world was, how sweet, and kind, and wonderful Marinette is, and how Ladybug must be jealous of her.

His dreams was a jumble up mess of princesses, ladybugs, cats, and kisses…

"Wait!" Adrien suddenly shot up several hours later when realisation finally smacked into him in a middle of a dream. "Did Ladybug just say that _she was going to see me in school_?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you all for the reviews, favourites, and follows. You have all been very kind and encouraging. I'm glad you had enjoyed this fic and I hope you continue to enjoy the final chapter.

Adrien blearily dressed himself the next morning as he went through his morning routine in a daze.

As soon as he realised that Ladybug said she would see him in school it immediately occurred to him that a. she knew who he was, and b. she went to school with him. This meant two horrible things. First he had managed to give away his secret identity and should therefore have his superhero licence taking away from him for being such a dunderhead, and secondly he was a blind idiot who hadn't noticed Ladybug in her civilian form despite vowing he would recognise her anywhere.

Understandably he spent the rest of the night racking his brains at what he could have done to give himself away and who on earth Ladybug could be.

Unfortunately he came to no satisfactory conclusion whatsoever.

In an attempt to distract himself Adrien checked his social media to see if any of the other Akuma victims were still affected. He was pleased to see that Ladybug had nothing to worry about as #TrueLoveKissIsReal blew up all over Twitter. Stories poured out on his colleges' feeds on how their parents or their partners or their siblings or their dearest friends had cured them when they had given them a reassuring kiss.

It was rather heart-warming.

And immediately brought the memory of Marinette's soft, sweet, lips against his.

Which gave him another thing to stress about.

" _Hem, hem_ ," Nathalie coughed pointedly. Adrien jumped, startled, as he realised he had been sitting at the dining table nibbling at his breakfast as Nathalie droned on about his day without noticing he had even left his bedroom. "Adrien," Nathalie said quietly but sternly, "I wanted to have a word with you about this."

She held up her phone to reveal her own Twitter feed where #TrueLoveKissIsReal popped up multiple times.

"You father is, of course, unaware of the situation," Nathalie carried on calmly, "he believes that Ladybug had cured you as she usually does in these sort of situations and I see no reason why I should enlighten him otherwise." Adrien sighed in relief. He really didn't want a discussion with his father about his romantic life. He wasn't entirely too sure how it would end and he was terrified of the possibilities. " _Providing_ ," Nathalie added sternly, "you tell me who exactly cured you."

"Oh," Adrien felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment, " _itwasMarinette_!" he mumbled hastily. "She bumped into me and I sort of accidentally pulled her on top of me."

There is a beat of silence as Nathalie's cool stare bored into him. Adrien shifted uncomfortably as he felt his cheeks get hotter and hotter. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Nathalie inquired. Adrien nodded hastily, unsure if his voice would work this very moment. "I see," Nathalie said quietly, "she's a good one."

Adrien blinked bewilderedly.

"Have a good day, Adrien," Nathalie said as she stood up, "and give my regards to Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien's jaw dropped at that.

Did…did….did Nathalie just _approve_ of Marinette?!

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette was trying very hard to not freak out.

When it first occurred to her that Chat Noir and Adrien were one and the same she barely hung up in time before she rolled over and screamed into her pillow. Again. for various reasons, like realising that she kissed Chat Noir AGAIN because he is Adrien, and realising that for the last ten months or so Adrien has been kissing her hand because he is Chat Noir, and realising that she has been crushing on Chat Noir because he is Adrien, and realising that Adrien has called her Princess and My Lady and flirted with her outrageously because he is Chat Noir.

Then her transformation wore off and one look into Tiki's eyes and Marinette knew that she knew which led to a lot of general yelling and freaking out.

Then Marinette began to hyperventilate.

It took a lot of soothing nuzzles and cookies from Tiki to calm Marinette down.

Then Marinette had a flashback to her accidental kiss in the shower and that led to more hyperventilating as she had visions of Adrien being so disgusted about her lips being on his that he no longer wanted to be her crime fighting partner and she loses the two most important guys in her life (after her father, of course!) in one fell swoop.

Understandably Marinette did not sleep at all that night as she laid there flat out on her back staring up at the ceiling as her thoughts jumped to one worst case scenario to the next.

"Don't be silly Marinette!" Tiki chided her repeatedly. "It didn't sound like Adrien was upset about the kiss when he told you as Ladybug about it, did it?"

"N-no-no" Marinette stammered back in reply as she felt her cheeks heat up, "but he might have just been nice about it because that's what he has always been like with or without the mask. He's so nice."

" _Exactly_!" Tiki exclaimed. "so he's not going to have you arrested for sexual assault, or take out a restraining order, or asked to be transferred to a new school, or give up Plagg, or have you deported, or anything else equally ridiculous and horrendous that you can think up."

"But-"

"Nothing bad is going to happen, Marinette," Tiki said firmly, "now hurry up. You're going to be late for school."

" **GAH**!"

Marinette sped through the flat, flew down the stairs, shouted out a goodbye to her parents over her shoulder, before she dashed down the street.

By the time she reached the school grounds she was completely out of breathe and almost collapsed against the school entrance as she desperately tried to catch her breathe.

As soon as she did though she began to lose it all over again as she realised she was mere minutes away from seeing Adrien/Chat Noir for the first time since they kissed and she found out his identity.

"Oh Tiki!" she whispered-screamed as she rifled through her locker. " _What am I going to do_?!"

"It's going to be okay, Marinette," Tiki said reassuringly, "all you have to do is act like yourself."

"Which _version_?!" Marinette hissed desperately. "The crazy, babbling, incoherent version or the confident yet stupidly blind superhero ver-"

A warm hand suddenly clasped her shoulder, scorching her skin through her jacket and t-shirt. "Hey," the equally warm and familiar voice murmured in her ear, "Mari-"

" **EEK**!" Marinette screeched as she whirled round and clutched her bag to her chest. She caught sight of Adrien's face and immediately flushed in embarrassment as she felt like she could simply die. "O-o-oh!" she stammered out. "A-A-A- _Adrien_! You startled me!"

"Sorry!" Adrien mumbled abashed as he self-consciously scratched back of his head, "I didn't mean to startle you."

She wanted to tell him that it was all right or give him a reassuring smile or make a joke, call him Kitty, and scratch his chin.

Instead all she could do was stay rooted to the spot as her cheeks quickly made its way through the various shades of pink and red available while the accidental kiss flashed back into her mind for the hundred thousandth billionth time.

"So….I…erm….ah….you…."

"Yeah!" Marinette squeaked in reply to Adrien's incoherent babble. "I mean…ah…erm…um….err…. _gah_!"

There is a painfully long silence as Marinette kept her eyes on the floor. _COME ON!_ She silently screamed to herself. _THIS CHAT FREAKING NOIR! YOUR ANNOYING PUN-DROPPING PARTNER, YOUR BEST FRIEND, THE GUY YOU HAVE KISSED TW –_ _ **OH MY GOD!**_

"So," Adrien coughed, "I….erm….given our presentation some thought."

"O-o-oh?"

"Yeah," Adrien shifted on his feet sheepishly, "we never picked a Fairy Tale so I was thinking, that, erm," his cheeks turned a faint, adorable, pink that made Marinette's heart flutter, "the Princess and the Frog….it kinda suits us, doesn't it?"

Marinette's temper rippled at that. He thought a story about a spoilt, self-centred, Princess that couldn't keep her word _suited_ them?! "Am I being compared to _Chloe?_!" she yelled crossly. "Why does everyone keep doing that?!"

Okay everyone _didn't_ but having both Sabrina and an Akuma do it in one evening kinda made it a sore subject for her.

"W-w-what?!" Adrien yelped. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I-I-I just meant that yesterday I looked like a frog and then a…." he trailed off as his cheeks deepened into a brighter shade of pink. "Well," he mumbled, "a kiss from you changed me back."

Marinette's mouth made a small 'O' shape of surprise as her cheeks burned in flattered embarrassment. He did, as Chat, always call her Princess. "Oh!" she managed to choke out. "Th-th-that's actually rather sweet."

"Err…thanks," Adrien mumbled as he scratched the back of his head again, "So, erm, I thought we could, you know, talk about the moral of the story. You know, not judging a book by its cover, and it's what's on the inside that matters, and love is about the person not what they look like."

"I think that's a great idea!" Marinette said way too enthusiastically and winced simultaneously at how desperately eager she must sound.

"I'm glad," Adrien smiled softly. There was a beat of silence and then Adrien coughed awkwardly to clear his throat. "So I, erm, wanted to thank you….for you know, being a good friend to me yesterday, and for…well everything."

Both of their cheeks burned simultaneously at the implication and Marinette had no doubt that the kiss was on both of their brains at this very moment

" _You're welcome_!" Marinette squeaked. "Anytime!"

She then wanted to scream into her hands when it occurred to her that she kinda suggested that she would kiss him anytime.

 _Oh my freaking God!_

Adrien flushed at that and Marinette couldn't help but hope that the same thought had occurred to him. They were so in sync with one another as Ladybug and Chat Noir that she couldn't help hope it transferred into their bond as civilians as well.

Marinette really wished she could summon up her Ladybug courage and just grab hold of him by the shirt lapels and snog the living daylights out of him and then tell him that she knows he's Chat Noir and she's Ladybug before she kissed him some more.

Unfortunately, like every other time she wished something similar in the past (the snogging the living daylights out of him part), all of her Ladybug courage had decided to go on a holiday and she found herself frozen as she tried to say something, anything, to her partner.

Finally after what felt like a century she managed to finally open her mouth just as Adrien opened his and –

 _ **RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING!**_

….The bell rang loudly and obnoxiously making them both jump.

Marinette gasped as she clutched where her heart roughly was. It felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest it was racing so fast. She took great big gulping breathes to try and calm herself down while Adrien blinked rapidly to recover his composure.

"…That's the bell," Adrien stated, "I suppose we should _hop to it_ , eh?" he winked cheesily at that while his soft, sweet, smile quickly blossomed into the familiar, cheeky, grin she always associated with Chat Noir.

If she ever had any doubt after last night then it was completely banished from this point onwards.

Only Chat could come up with a pun like that.

Marinette rolled her eyes at that. " _Urgh_!" she groaned loudly as they began to move towards the classroom, "that's not funny whatsoever."

"Really?" Adrien pouted. "And here I was _hop_ ing that you would find that _punny_."

"Oh God! No Kitty!" she cried out. "I am _begging_ you here! Do not use our presentation as an opportunity to make frog puns!"

"But My La- wait," Adrien halted to a stop. His beautiful green eyes wide with shock as he stared at her. " _What?_!"

 _Goddamnit!_

Of all the way to tell him that she knew and who she was, she didn't think she would do it accidentally because he made a pun! _Urgh_! Her and her big mouth!

"Y-y-you heard me," she stuttered her cheeks burned and her eyes fell to the floor. She really didn't want to see his disappointment when it really clicked in his mind that boring, plain, clumsy, stammering Marinette was Ladybug. "No frog puns, Kitty."

Adrien's mouth dropped open almost unattractively and then he slammed it close before he opened it again only to have no words come back. This repeated itself several times before finally some actual words escaped his mouth. "It was talking about the kiss," he croaked, "that's what gave me away."

" _Uh-huh_!" Marinette squeaked.

There is another prolonged silence as Marinette struggled to find a way to voice her fears. _Are you disappointed it's me?_ She silently screamed to herself. _Do you still want to be my partner? Are you going to have me arrested for kissing you? Do you never want to kiss again?_

She squealed when he suddenly scooped her up and spun her round before holding her in a lovely, tight, embrace that simultaneously comforted her (it was a hug from Chat after all) and fulfilled all her dreams and therefore excited her (it was also a hug from Adrien!).

"I'm so glad it's you," he murmured into her hair. Her heart skipped a joyful beat at that as her fears melted away. "I just can't believe I didn't have the _froggiest_ idea when it was so obvious."

She smacked him in the chest for that one.

"Sorry, sorry," Adrien laughed, "last one! _Purr_ -mise!"

Somehow she didn't believe him whatsoever.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien felt like he was walking on air.

He had never felt this happy before in his life. He finally found his Lady and she was one of the best, truest, and sweetest friends he ever had. He also found himself looking at virtually a whole week in her company. A whole week where he can hopefully woo her properly in between research and making a presentation.

And then there's the fact that they had _kissed_!

He would much rather it hadn't been such an awkward, accidental, embarrassing moment but still…. _they had kissed_! And her kiss broke the spell on him which meant there was true love between them!

He really couldn't wait for class to be over so he could really talk to Marinette properly.

He had hesitatingly bumped his hand against hers as they wandered down the corridor as he tried to be brave and actually hold her hand. Fortunately she was much braver than him as her fingers slide through his and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

Though he was pretty sure her face was redder than her Ladybug suit and that his face wasn't that far behind, he still felt like he could skip for joy.

"ADRI-KINS!" Adrien and Marinette wince simultaneously as Chloe's shrill voice screeched throughout the class room. Adrien didn't have a moment to even breathe when Chloe suddenly slammed into him. The sheer force of her body weight ripped his hand out of Marinette's as he staggered back several steps. "I KNEW IT!" Chloe squealed delightedly. "I knew that my true love kiss in our shared dream would cure you! We are meant to be you and I! Don't worry my sweet, darling, Adri-kins! I will rescue you from that evil, gold-digging, Marinette. _Bleh_!"

" _Chloe_!" Adrien squirmed from beneath Chloe's arms. "I don't need rescuing from Marinette! And you didn't cure me!"

"Nonsense, Adri-kins!" Chloe cooed in a sickly sweet voice that made the hairs on the back of Adrien's neck prickle. "Marinette is obviously working the long game by declaring herself as your work partner. She's making herself appear all nice and sweet so you won't think she's marry you for your money when in reality she totally is."

" _EXCUSE ME_?!" Marinette exploded furiously. "I am so not a gold-digger unlike you. You evil, mali-"

"Marinette stood by me when I was ugly," Adrien said firmly as he shoved a wide-eyed Chloe away. "You couldn't get rid of me fast enough yesterday. I think I know who is my real friend and wants to be with the real me."

"Don't be silly, Adri-kins!" Chloe battered her eyelashes. "I don't want you for your money. I'm rich! Why would I want you for your money?"

"No, you just want a trophy boyfriend to hang off on your arm like a bracelet or something," Adrien said bitterly, "well strangely enough Chloe I don't want that. I don't want _you_."

Chloe gasped melodramatically at that. " _How could you say that_?!" she wailed. "I'm your future Mrs Agreste!"

"No," Adrien said coldly, "you are not, you never were, and you never will be the future Mrs Agreste," he reached out and slipped his hand back into Marinette's before he pulled her close. "Marinette is my true love and one day she will be my future Mrs Agreste."

And, because he wanted to and because he knew it would really rub salt in Chloe's perceived wounds, he pressed a gentle but firm kiss on Marinette's forehead.

" _Meep_!" Marinette squeaked.

" **ARGH!** " Chloe screamed furiously. "I won't accept this!" she stomped her foot childishly. "I won't! I won't! I won't!"

"I, erm," Adrien rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "would you please go out on a date with me sometime, Marinette?"

"Y-y- _yes_!" Marinette stammered and squealed simultaneously. "I would love to!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Chloe's howl of utter denial was almost drowned out by the rest of the class applauding and cheering. The realisation that they were not alone and all of their friends had been watching the entire thing caused Marinette and Adrien to flush in embarrassment (and sheer happiness!).

"All right, Class," Ms Bustier said firmly as she stepped into the classroom, "settle down. Chloe, please, drop the dramatics. We have a busy day ahead of us."

" _Dude_!" Nino whispered as he offered his fist up. "That was awesome!"

"I think," Adrien murmured back as he bumped his fist against Nino's, "you mean it was _paw_ some!"

He grinned as he could virtually hear Marinette's eyes roll behind him.

He was just so blissfully happy!

He had found out the identity of Ladybug but more importantly he found out that Marinette was a real, true, friend who truly loved him with all her heart no matter how annoying she might find his puns or how incoherent her speech became. He could grow old, fat, and bald and know that she would still be by his side, devotedly in love with him as much as he was in her.

Also he got to tell Chloe where to stick it for the first time ever!

You know the Akuma attack did him more favours than he could ever imagine….he ought to send Hawk Moth thank you flowers.

(Especially since Adrien and Marinette also totally aced their presentation and had celebrated with their eighty-seventh kiss – yes, he counts them! – since they agreed to date. Adrien had never been so ecstatic to pass an assignment before in his life.)


End file.
